Controlling audio, video, lighting and climate from a single core is practical with Q-SYS. The platform handles the complexity well, but Dante channel, UCI and cloud management licences become a significant recurring cost at scale. Open alternatives are worth investigating.
We are finishing construction of our church's worship hall, and the obvious question arises: how do we best control all the room's devices? And eventually the whole building and grounds: audio, video, lighting, curtain automation, HVAC, gates.
For audio, the plan is two independent paths: live worship music using the existing console, and a separate speaker system so that a single pulpit microphone is enough without powering everything else up. For video, several scenarios: multi-camera switching (we will most likely continue with a video switcher and OBS), disk recording and live streaming, slides and video on the projector with its own independent audio path to keep the active gear to a minimum. Same applies for film screenings. Lighting, mechanical systems and climate will initially be controlled through a custom UI integrated with the core, with broader automation scenarios layered on top.
The AV control market has a few major players: Crestron is powerful and flexible but expensive and requires a specialist; Extron is easier to integrate and popular in educational settings; Biamp is strong on audio and DSP. All three share a closed ecosystem and a licensing model that makes itself felt at scale.
After some research I came across Q-SYS from QSC, a large company specialising in AV manufacturing and integration. I worked through several online courses on their site, installed Designer, and put together a simple flow to get a feel for the platform.
What I liked: solid third-party integration, sub-flows for reuse, and a UI that is dated but functional. What I did not like: Windows only (Mac and Linux users are left with emulators; I ran it on my Mint through Bottles). The core is written in C; code nodes use Lua scripts. Fair enough, though for embedded work there are more interesting options today - let me know in the comments what you would pick.
I also reviewed their hardware and found options that fit our needs with room to grow. But alongside the equipment cost (I would handle installation and integration myself) I had overlooked the licensing: Dante channel expansion, UCI customization, and Q-SYS Reflect cloud management. Not critical at launch, but at scale you are looking at three separate subscriptions running in parallel.
I have no objection to vendors being paid for their products, but the idea of looking for alternatives came naturally. More on that in the next posts.